Connector and electrical component assembly

ABSTRACT

A connector wire has a flattened lead-receiving section with a hole therethrough, and the end of an electrical lead wire is passed through the hole and secured to the flattened section. The free end section of the flattened portion is bent back to reduce the size of the hole and to press its periphery into biting engagement with the lead.

United States Patent 91 [111 3,729,574 Weiner 51 Apr. 24, 1973 CONNECTORAND ELECTRICAL COMPONENT ASSEMBLY [56] References Cited [76] Inventor:Al Weiner, 2111 Regatta Avenue, UNITED STATES PATENTS Sunset Island N0.4, Miami Beach, Fla 33140 2,994,059 7/1961 Dahlgren et a1 1 ..174/117 FFX 3,025,339 3/1962 Gordon et a1 ..174/84 R [22] Filed: Mar. 1, 19712,451,516 10/1948 Skobel ..l74/52 S UX [21] Appl. No.: 122,616

Related US. Application Data Continuation-impart of Ser. No. 825,332,May 16, 1969, Pat. No. 3,566,465.

174/74 R, 75 R, 117 PF, 525; 287/201, 20.5, 103; 338/329, 332; 339/275R, 277 R; 29/628, 629

Primary ExaminerBernard A. Gilheany Attorney-Shlesinger, Arkwright &Garvey [57] ABSTRACT A connector wire has a flattened lead-receivingsection with a hole therethrough, and the end of an electrical lead wireis passed through the hole and secured to the flattened section. Thefree end section of the flattened portion is bent back to reduce thesize of the hole and to press its periphery into biting engagement withthe lead.

2 Claims, 14 Drawing Figures Patented April 24, 1973 2 Sheets-Sheet lPatented A ril 24, 1973 3,729,574

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 mvsnrons A We/ner "70mins CONNECTOR AND ELECTRICALCOMPONENT I ASSEMBLY This application is a continuation-in-part ofapplication Ser. No. 825,332, filed May 16, I969 now U.S. Pat.3,566,465, issued Mar. 2, 1971.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION It is a usual practice in connecting two wirestogether, or in connecting leads of electrical elements, to employ aseparately manufactured connector element which is attached to the endof one of the wires to make a good mechanical and electrical connectionwith a minimum of assembly time. Such connectors are available in manydifferent sizes and shapes, depending upon the type of connection to bemade. However, most of such connectors in general use are of the eyelettype, having a circular wire receiving ring at one end, and the otherend having a sleeve or similar type structure for grasping the end ofthe wire to be connected.

This method of making connections has involved the purchase of theconnector for a given wire, and the attachment of the connector on theend of the wire, prior to making the desired connection between twoelectrical conductors.

Both the purchase of the special connector members, and their attachmentto the end of the wire required an expenditure of money which willamount to a sizeable sum when a large number of such connections are tobe made.

Accordingly, it is a principal object of this invention to provide asimple and relatively inexpensive method of making the desiredconnection.

It is another object of this invention to eliminate the need for aspecial connector member.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide a connectorintegral with the wire, thus obviating a special connector, and the needto affix it to the end of the conductor.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a mechanical andelectrical joint which issmaller and neater than previously obtainable.

'A' still further object of this invention is to provide a connectionbetween conductors which does not require any special connector members.

Astill further object of this invention is to make it possible to form aconnector at the end of any given wire which can be used to join thatwire to another, obviating the need for a stock of connectors ofdifferent sizes.

These and other further objects of this invention will become moreapparent from a reading of the following specification and claims.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I shows the end of a wire prior toforming of a connector section.

FIG. 2 shows the wire end of FIG. I after forming of the connectorsection.

FIG. 3 shows a completed connector after a wire receiving hole has beenmade therein.

' FIG. 4 shows a wire having the integral connector prior to receivingthe end ofa second wire.

FIG. 5 is a side view ofa completed joint.

FIG. 6 shows the two elements of FIG. 4, in position for joining.

FIG. 7 shows the members of FIG. 6 after the joint has been completed.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the mechanical gripobtainable when the terminal member is folded over.

FIG. 9 shows a plurality of terminal ended wires connected to a singlewire.

FIG. 10 is a side view of the integral connector wire connected to aresistor or capacitor lead.

FIG. 11 is an end view of the assembly of FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 is a top view of an elongated connector wire.

FIG. 13 is a side view of an end portion of the integral connector,showing in cross-section the manner in which a thin wire can beconnected thereto.

FIG. 14 shows the manner in which the integral connector wire can beconnected to a diode.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Referring to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows awire generally indicated at 10 from which an integral conan enlargedflat end connector section 12 is formed on tened sections 12 and 14 isindicated at 16. A side view of the flattened section can be seen inFIG. 5.

The final step in forming the completed connector section involves themaking of the hole 18 in the widened connector section 12. This hole isslightly greater in size than the size of the wire which is to bereceived therethrough. In practice there is a clearance of from two tofive thousandths allowed for between the wire and the periphery of thehole. Itwill be noted thatthe hole is centrally disposed in the enlargedconnector section 12, and thata substantial free end 20 is allowed forbetween the tipof the connector and the periphery of the hole 18.

Theiwire 10 with the completed connector section as shown in FIG. 3 isnow ready for joining with the end of the second wire which is to beattached thereto.

The connector section can be bent up as shown in FIG. 4 along thejuncture line 16 to permit end to end joint of two wire ends that aredisposed parallel to each other.

FIG. 5 shows the joinder of the connector section bearing wire II) witha second wire 24 where the wires to be connected are disposedperpendicular to one another.

The end line connection of two wires such as those shown in FIG. 4 areillustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7. The wire 24, as shown in FIG. 4, isinserted through the opening 18 of the upturned terminalsection 12 ofwire 10 and moved a substantial distance as illustrated in FIG. 6 atwhich point it can be soldered to complete the connection of the twowires. However, if a firm mechanical bond is desired, the upturnedsection 20 can be folded down on the wire 24 which is illustrated inFIG. 7, and thereafter solder can be applied to the adjacent surfaces ofeach of the wires.

It has been found that with only a small clearance of several or morethousandths of an inch between the periphery of the opening 18 and thewire inserted therethrough, a solder bond is usually satisfactory tocomplete the connection. For example, the construction of FIG. 5 iscomplete with the application of solder, and in most instances this bondis sufficiently strong to hold the wires together.

In some instances, it may be desirable to obtain a very strongmechanical bond prior to application of the solder. FIG. 8 illustratesthis mechanical lock, and shows an enlarged cross-sectional view of theconnector wherein the peripheral edges 26 and 28 are forced inwardly tobite into the outer peripheral surface of the wire 24 when theupstanding outer free end is bent down against the wire in the mannerindicated in FIG. 7. This results in a strong mechanical bond prior toapplication of the solder, wherein the two pieces are mechanicallylocked together and cannot be moved relative to one another. Solder isapplied to the wires as the final step, as shown in FIG. 7.

The connection of the plurality of wires is illustrated in FIG. 9,wherein the wire 30 having the integral connector member 32 and asimilar wire with an integral connector are joined together with thewire which is passed through the openings of the connector sections ofwires 30 and 40.

METHOD It can be seen that this simplified integral terminal orconnector structure has a wide application of uses, permitting theelectrician to readily connect for most any type of wire size in thefield.

The applications of the invention are many and varied, permitting theelectrician to readily obtain a joint connecting one wire to another, orconnecting electrical components such as condensers, resistors, diodes,or other elements. The handiness of such an arrangement can be seenwhere a large number of connections are to be made, such as enlargedcircuit boards, and terminal boxes.

It also has application in small wiring jobs where the electrician mustmake connections such as in the home, electrical machinery, and othertypes of field applications.

With the use of a small punch, or a manual flattening plier or crimper,the first step of flattening the end of the wire is readilyaccomplished.

The small punch is in use to make the hole through the flattenedconnectors section at the end of the wire.

Where a large number of wires are involved, it is preferable to usepower punch presses in the shop to flatten the end of the wire and topunch the hole through the connector section, since a large number ofwires can be provided with the integral connector section in a veryshort period of time.

The connection of the wires is made by inserting the plain ended wirethrough the hole of the wire having the connector section, andsubsequently soldering the adjacent surfaces of the wires together. Formost purposes this joint will be sufficient, but where it is desired toobtain the very strong joint, the terminal free end portion is foldedback on the plain ended wire with a plier or similar tool prior tosoldering as described above with regard to FIGS. 7 and 8.

In certain application such as the wiring of radio and television setsand similar types of electronic equipment, it is possible to pre-dip theend of the wire in solder prior to putting the pieces together, so thatno additional solder for the joint is required.

terminal section is to be bent over on the plain wire end, the centralhole should be positioned close enough to the junction line 16 to permitthe end to readily be folded over by use of pliers or other types ofcrimping tool.

In FIG. 10, an electrical component such as a resistor, capacitor, orinductance, generally indicated at 60 having leads 62 and 64 is shownconnected to the connector wire 66. The lead 64 is shown extendedthrough the flattened section 68 and soldered in position by the solderbead 70.

The specific arrangement shown in FIG. 7 illustrates the manner in whichthe solder bead 70 is placed around the periphery of the lead 64.

In FIG. 12, the connector wire 72 is shown with a partial section cutaway, inasmuch as in this modification the wire is an elongated piecewith the flattened end portions 74 having the holes 76 therethrough. Thewire in this instance has the head section 74 formed as previouslydescribed, and the connector wire is used as a separate individualpiece. The midportion of the connector wire is shown cut-away, and thelength of wire can be of any length desired.

In FIG. 13, a simple application of the use of the connector wire withregard to thin wire connections is shown. The connector wire 72 hasflattened end portion 74, with an opening 76 therethrough. The elongatedthin wire 78, to be connected, is passed through the opening 76 and hasa looped portion 80 which is doubled back on the wire and has its end 82brought into abutment with the main portion of the wire 78. The junctionis completed by covering the joint with a solder glob 84, as shown inpartial section in FIG. 13.

In FIG. 14, an electrical component, such as a diode, as used inalternator construction is shown, with its input conductor lead 88connected to the connector wire 90 by being passed through the flatconnector section 92 and fixed in position by the solder connection 94.

While this invention has been described in connection with differentembodiments thereof, it will be understood that it is capable of furthermodification, and this application is intended to cover any variations,uses, or adaptations of the invention following, in general, theprinciples of the invention and including such departures from thepresent disclosure as come within known or customary practice in the artto which the invention pertains, and as may be applied to the essentialfeatures hereinbefore set forth and fall within the scope of theinvention or the limits of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An electrical connector-wire assembly, comprising:

a. a circular cross-section solid metal wire lead having a free end andhaving an electrical component at the other end thereof,

b. a connector-wire unit formed from an ordinary length of circularsolid wire and including an elongated section of circular cross-sectionmetal conductor wire having approximately the same diameter as the solidwire lead,

c. a flat end connector section integrally formed from one end of theconnector-wire,

d. the flat end connector section having a width and a length greaterthan the diameter of the conductor wire and a thickness substantiallyless than the wire diameter,-

. the central portion of the flat end connector section having acircular opening through which the free end of the solid metal wire leadis received,

. the cross-sectional size of the circular opening in the flat endconnector section being greater than the solid metal wire lead diameterto provide an annular peripheral clearance space having a width of fromtwo to five thousandths of an inch,

g. the free end of the end connector section being forth in claim 1,wherein:

a. solder is applied between adjacent surfaces of the wire lead and theconnector-wire unit. I

1. An electrical connector-wire assembly, comprising: a. a circularcross-section solid metal wire lead having a free end and having anelectrical component at the other end thereof, b. a connector-wire unitformed from an ordinary length of circular solid wire and including anelongated section of circular cross-section metal conductor wire havingapproximately the same diameter as the solid wire lead, c. a flat endconnector section integrally formed from one end of the connector-wire,d. the flat end connector section having a width and a length greaterthan the diameter of the conductor wire and a thickness substantiallyless than the wire diameter, e. the central portion of the flat endconnector section having a circular opening through which the free endof the solid metal wire lead is received, f. the cross-sectional size ofthe circular opening in the flat end connector section being greaterthan the solid metal wire lead diameter to provide an annular peripheralclearance space having a width of from two to five thousandths of aninch, g. the free end of the end connector section being bent back onthe wire lead to reduce the effective size of the opening in the endconnector section and to press its periphery into biting engagement withthe lead to provide both a rigid mechanical connection and an electricalcontact between the wire lead and the connector wire unit.
 2. Theelectrical connector-wire assembly as set forth in claim 1, wherein: a.solder is applied between adjacent surfaces of the wire lead and theconnector-wire unit.